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MUS 110 Music Appreciation > Chapter 10: Western Musical Instruments > Flashcards

Chapter 10: Western Musical Instruments Flashcards

1
Q

Bow

A

A slightly curved stick with hair or fibers attached at both ends, drawn over the strings of an instrument to set them in motion. (page 38)

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2
Q

Pluck

A

To sound the strings of an instrument using fingers or a plectrum or pick. (page 38)

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3
Q

Violin

A

Soprano, or highest-ranged, member of the bowed-string instrument family. (page 38)

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4
Q

Viola

A

Bowed-string instrument of middle range; the second-highest member of the violin family. (page 39)

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5
Q

Double

A

To perform the same notes with more than one voice or instrument, either at the same pitch level or an octave higher or lower. (page 39)

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6
Q

Cello

A

Bowed-string instrument with a middle-to-low range and dark, rich sonority; lower than a viola. Also violoncello. (page 39)

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7
Q

Violoncello

A

See cello. (page 39)

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8
Q

Double Bass

A

Largest and lowest-pitched member of the bowed string family. Also contrabass or bass viol. (page 39)

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9
Q

Contrabass

A

See double bass. (page 39)

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10
Q

Legato

A

Smooth and connected; opposite of staccato. (page 39)

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11
Q

Staccato

A

Short, detached notes, marked with a dot above them. (page 39)

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12
Q

Pizzicato

A

Performance direction to pluck a string of a bowed instrument with the finger. (page 39)

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13
Q

Glissando

A

A rapid slide through pitches of a scale. (page 39)

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14
Q

Tremolo

A

Rapid repetition of a note; can be achieved instrumentally or vocally. (page 39)

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15
Q

Trill

A

Ornament consisting of the rapid alternation between one note and the next. (page 39)

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16
Q

Double-stop

A

Playing two notes simultaneously on a string instrument. (page 39)

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17
Q

Mute

A

Mechanical device used to muffle the sound of an instrument. (page 40)

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18
Q

Harmonics

A

Individual, pure sounds that are part of any musical tone; in string instruments, crystalline pitches in the very high register, produced by lightly touching a vibrating string at a certain point. (page 40)

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19
Q

Harp

A

Plucked-string instrument, triangular in shape with strings perpendicular to the soundboard. (page 40)

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20
Q

Arpeggio

A

Broken chord in which the individual pitches are sounded one after another instead of simultaneously. (page 40)

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21
Q

Guitar

A

Plucked-string instrument originally made of wood with a hollow, resonating body and a fretted fingerboard; types include acoustic and electric. (page 40)

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22
Q

Acoustic Guitar

A

A guitar designed for performance without electronic amplification. (page 40)

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23
Q

Electric Guitar

A

A guitar designed for electronic amplification. (page 40)

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24
Q

Banjo

A

Plucked-string instrument with round body in the form of a single-headed drum and a long, fretted neck; brought to the Americas by African slaves. (page 40)

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25
Q

Mandolin

A

Plucked-string instrument with a rounded body and fingerboard; used in some traditional musics and in country-western music. (page 40)

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26
Q

Flute

A

Soprano-range woodwind instrument, usually made of metal and held horizontally. (page 41)

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27
Q

Piccolo

A

Smallest woodwind instrument, similar to the flute but sounding an octave higher. (page 41)

28
Q

Oboe

A

Soprano-range, double-reed woodwind instrument. (page 41)

29
Q

English Horn

A

Double-reed woodwind instrument, larger and lower in range than the oboe. (page 41)

30
Q

Bell

A

The wide or bulbed opening at the end of a wind instrument. (page 41)

31
Q

Clarinet

A

Single-reed woodwind instrument with a wide range of sizes. (page 41)

32
Q

Bass clarinet

A

Woodwind instrument, with the lowest range, of the clarinet family. (page 41)

33
Q

Bassoon

A

Double-reed woodwind instrument with a low range. (page 42)

34
Q

Contrabassoon

A

Double-reed woodwind instrument with the lowest range in the woodwind family. Also double bassoon. (page 42)

35
Q

Saxophone

A

Family of single-reed woodwind instruments commonly used in wind and jazz bands. (page 42)

36
Q

Embouchure

A

The placement of the lips, lower facial muscles, and jaws in playing a wind instrument. (page 42)

37
Q

Trumpet

A

Highest-pitched brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 42)

38
Q

French Horn

A

See horn. (page 43)

39
Q

Trombone

A

Tenor-range brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 43)

40
Q

Tuba

A

Bass-range brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 43)

41
Q

Cornet

A

Valved brass instrument similar to the trumpet but more mellow in sound. (page 44)

42
Q

Bugle

A

Brass instrument that evolved from the earlier military, or field, trumpet. (page 44)

43
Q

Fluegelhorn

A

Valved brass instrument resembling a bugle with a wide bell, used in jazz and commercial music. (page 44)

44
Q

Euphonium

A

Tenor-range brass instrument resembling the tuba. (page 44)

45
Q

Sousaphone

A

Brass instrument adapted from the tuba with a forward bell that is coiled to rest over the player’s shoulder for ease of carrying while marching. (page 44)

46
Q

Timpani

A

Percussion instrument consisting of a hemispheric copper shell with a head of plastic or calfskin, held in place by a metal ring and played with soft or hard padded sticks. A pedal mechanism changes the tension of the head, and with it the pitch. Also kettledrums. (page 44)

47
Q

Kettledrums

A

See timpani. (page 44)

48
Q

Xylophone

A

percussion instrument with tuned blocks of wood suspended on a frame, laid out in the shape of a keyboard and struck with hard mallets. (page 44)

49
Q

Marimba

A

Percussion instrument, a mellower version of the xylophone; of African origin. (page 44)

50
Q

Vibraphone

A

A percussion instrument with metal bars and electrically driven rotating propellers under each bar that produces a vibrato sound, much used in jazz. (page 44)

51
Q

Glockenspiel

A

Percussion instrument with horizontal, tuned steel bars of various sizes that are struck with mallets and produce a bright metallic sound. (page 44)

52
Q

Celesta

A

Percussion instrument resembling a miniature upright piano, with tuned metal plates struck by hammers that are operated by a keyboard. (page 44)

53
Q

Chimes

A

Percussion instrument of definite pitch consisting of a set of tuned metal tubes of various lengths suspended from a frame and struck with a hammer. (page 44)

54
Q

Snare Drum

A

Small cylindrical drum with two heads. (page 44)

55
Q

Bass Drum

A

Percussion instrument played with a large, soft-headed stick; the largest orchestral drum. (page 45)

56
Q

Tom-Tom

A

Cylindrical drum without snares. (page 45)

57
Q

Tambourine

A

Percussion instrument consisting of a small round drum with metal plates inserted in its rim; played by striking or shaking. (page 45)

58
Q

Castanets

A

Percussion instruments consisting of small wooden clappers that are struck together; widely used to accompany Spanish dancing. (page 45)

59
Q

Triangle

A

Percussion instrument consisting of a slender rod of steel bent in the shape of a triangle, struck with a steel beater. (page 45)

60
Q

Cymbals

A

Percussion instruments consisting of two large circular brass plates of equal size that are struck sideways against each other. (page 45)

61
Q

Gong

A

Percussion instrument consisting of a broad, circular metal disk suspended on a frame and struck with a heavy mallet; produces a definite pitch. See also tam-tam. (page 45)

62
Q

Tam-Tam

A

A flat gong of indefinite pitch. See also gong. (page 45)

63
Q

Gamelan

A

Musical ensemble of Java or Bali, made up of gongs, chimes, metallophones, and drums, among other instruments. (page 45)

64
Q

Piano

A

Keyboard instrument whose strings are struck with hammers controlled by a keyboard mechanism; pedals control dampers in the strings that stop the sound when the finger releases the key. (page 45)

65
Q

Organ

A

Wind instrument in which air is fed to the pipes by mechanical means; the pipes are controlled by two or more keyboards and a set of pedals. (page 45)

66
Q

Harpsichord

A

Early Baroque keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by quills instead of being struck with hammers like the piano. (page 45)

MUS 110 Music Appreciation (50 decks)

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